Faculty and students in the Atmospheric Sciences program at Michigan Tech undertake
research about air currents, clouds, volcanic emissions, snow, and more.

Why is it that sometimes clouds form but not a drop of rain falls? How can we better
understand environmental processes at a molecular level? How do air currents transport
air pollution and what are the effects?

These are some of the questions students and faculty in the Atmospheric Sciences doctoral
program have sought to answer. These questions have led researchers to seek answers
as far away as Pico Mountain in the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago in the northern Atlantic Ocean, and as near
as the Keweenaw Waterway.

The interdisciplinary program that boasts faculty from physics, geological and mining
engineering, chemistry, forestry and civil and environmental engineering is celebrating
the 10th anniversary of its founding this year.

Condensing diverse fields into an interdisciplinary program

Much like condensation nuclei—a particle of dust or pollen on which water vapor condenses
to form a cloud—the idea to create the Atmospheric Sciences program was formed around
the idea that students would be more likely to come to Michigan Technological University
to study questions of the atmosphere and its effects on society if there was a formal
graduate field of study. The program needn’t be housed within one department, but
rather could benefit from the expertise of diverse faculty.

Richard Honrath, who was a professor in the geological and mining engineering and
sciences department, founded the program prior to his death in 2009. Additionally,
he established the Pico Mountain Observatory atop a volcanic caldera where 10 years
of data on trace gases and air pollution in the atmosphere have been gathered.

The complexities of the atmosphere require that it is studied from multiple vantage
points; confining study of the atmosphere into one discipline is impossible. The program
at Michigan Tech, then, is rooted in diverse areas of physics and chemistry, drawing
on fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, kinetic theory, physical chemistry and even biology.

"Atmospheric scientists work on problems as varied as climate, dispersion of pollutants
and weather forecasting. A lot of our students feel like working in this field will
allow them to do something that has a real chance for improving the condition of the
human family."Raymond Shaw, director of the PhD program and professor of physics

Atmospheric sciences programs can have micro or macro foci, and the myriad options
for research point to the depth and breadth of the field. Broadly defined, atmospheric
sciences is the study of the atmosphere. This includes inclement weather—storm fronts,
hurricanes, tornadoes. It includes cloud microphysics, the study of individual cloud
droplets and the precursors to clouds: aerosol particles and water vapor. Researchers
in the discipline study lake effect snow and ice formation. Atmospheric sciences also
includes atmospheric chemistry, which examines how aerosols and ozone are formed and
how particulate matter interacts within chemicals in the atmosphere.

“The most important impact (the program) has had is to instill a sense of community
and collaboration in the atmospheric sciences here” says Will Cantrell, professor
of physics. “It has strengthened the collaborative ties and has certainly helped our
students. Now our students are interacting with other students in atmospheric sciences.
They get different perspectives. They have a bigger and better context to put their
own research into.”

To date, eight students have graduated from the PhD program. The first graduate of
the program, Matthew Beals, now works as technical staff at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
His research at Michigan Tech focused on how clouds mix at their edges, and the implication
that has on the size and density of drops falling from the clouds after mixing. This
has advanced understanding of how precipitation forms in climate modeling.

Beals says that the hands-on experimental focus of the program is what attracted him
to Michigan Tech.

“My research involved not only analyzing and interpreting data, but designing, building
and operating the equipment required to collect the data,” he says.

"There was always an opportunity to be in the lab or in the field. Participating in
research campaigns with some of the best scientists in the field was quite an experience,
as was getting to fly with the instrument on the missions."Matthew Beals

Noopur Sharma, another graduate of the program, is now employed at the Environmental
Molecular Science Laboratory at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. While at
Michigan Tech, Sharma studied atmospheric particles, also known as aerosols. The shapes,
sizes and mixing states influence how much the particles absorb or scatter solar radiation.
Sharma says the focus of her research was to investigate the aerosol shape, sizes
and mixing states, and how the absorption and scattering of light by aerosols is affected
by these parameters.

“Great mentors and unique facilities like the cloud chamber made learning and research
very enjoyable,” she says. “The best part of (the atmospheric sciences program) is
that it is a multi-disciplinary program, where interaction between different research
groups and departments are encouraged.”

She noted that the Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences Institute seminar series, which brings eminent scientists from atmospheric sciences to Tech to share their
research helped her keep pace with the ongoing research, as well as the opportunity
to go to lunch with the speaker, providing a more intimate chance to learn from the
experiences that speakers shared.

“My involvement in collaborative projects and field and laboratory campaigns gave
me a chance to interact with people, make contacts, learn efficiently and gain confidence
in research,” she says.

At its core, the atmospheric sciences program is about gaining an understanding of
the atmosphere and the processes that occur within it, whether biogenic or anthropogenic.

“Humans tend to be interested in the lower part of the atmosphere because that’s where
we live,” says Judith Perlinger, professor of civil and environmental engineering.
She noted that the major fields of study in atmospheric sciences often center around
pollutants trapped in this lower part of the atmosphere.

Faculty hope that students will come away from the program motivated to lessen anthropogenic
impacts to the atmosphere, and with the skills to help society better understand the
air around us.

“I'm convinced that, in the long run, better science is the result of this all having
happened organically, from the bottom up. Science cannot be managed, it has to be
nurtured,” Shaw says. “I think we all hope that Michigan Tech will continue to grow
in its reputation for being a strong center of atmospheric sciences research, and
that our students and alumni will continue to move out into the world and make contributions
that are a result, in part, of having been a part of this program.”

Shaw said that program faculty are grateful to department chairs, deans and administrators
who have helped nurture the program over the years.

On the horizon

The future of the program at Michigan Tech is largely dictated by the research interests
of the faculty and students. Cloud formation, molecular-level environmental processes,
volcanic emissions, air pollution, coupled ocean-atmosphere models and snow are current
foci. Students navigating through coursework and research can rest assured their training
will be as interdisciplinary as the careers they can look forward to.

“Atmospheric scientists need many skills,” says Lynn Mazzoleni, associate professor
of chemistry. “They need to have some field experience. They need to build skills
for collaboration, like learning how to speak to people from another country or discipline.
In addition, they need laboratory skills and writing skills.”

There is no one discipline from which to approach atmospheric sciences; there’s a
future with many possible directions for the program.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than
7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than
120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering,
forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and
social sciences. Our campus in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway
and is just a few miles from Lake Superior.

Areas of Research

Perturbed atmosphere, air quality, climate, and society—to better understand atmospheric
processes and impacts to society. These include as climate change and air pollution.

Atmospheric interactions—to understand the atmosphere and its interactions with the
rest of the earth system, including water and earth.

Physics and chemistry of the atmosphere—to learn physical and chemical processes that
govern the behavior of the atmosphere and its interactions with human activities,
solar radiation and the natural world.

Advanced analytical and numerical tools—to develop and apply new methods for laboratory
simulations, measurement, and analysis of atmospheric properties (using in-situ lab,
field, and remote-sensing techniques) and using computer simulations of atmospheric
transport, microphysics, and chemistry to study complex atmospheric properties and
interactions—from micro- to macro-scale.

Current Research Highlights

Carn uses remote sensing to measure global volcanic sulfur dioxide production and
emissions from individual volcanoes, validating data with ground-based, airborne and
space-borne instruments. This research contributes to mitigation of the environmental
and health impacts of volcanic degassing using satellite data, and compares between
satellite observations and chemical transport model simulations of volcanic clouds
and plumes. Additionally, his work seeks to quantify anthropogenic sulfur dioxide
emissions from copper smelters and oil and gas fields.

About the Author

Kelley Christensen

Kelley writes university research stories and articles for university publications.
She studied news-editorial journalism and American literature at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln and holds a master's in technical communication from Montana Tech.
She is pursuing her doctorate in environmental policy at Michigan Tech.